W O Lance Elementary

W O Lance Elementary in Lanett, AL, serves 564 students in Pre-K through 6th grade and is part of the Lanett City district, which ranks near the bottom of Alabama's 139 districts.

Academically, W O Lance faces significant challenges. In the most recent school year, math proficiency ranged from just 5% in 5th grade to 15% in 3rd grade, while English proficiency sat between 24% and 32%—all well below state averages of 35-45% for math and 57-70% for English. Science proficiency in 4th grade was 20.5% versus the state's 50.2%. These scores place the school in the bottom 2-3% of all Alabama elementary schools, and its ranking has declined from the 16th percentile to the 2nd percentile over the past few years. The contrast with nearby schools is stark: Huguley Elementary, just 3 miles away, ranks in the 56th percentile with math proficiency rates 3-8 times higher, and Wacoochee Elementary, about 13 miles away, ranks in the 80th percentile with math scores 5-10 times higher. Even Bob HardingShawmut Elementary, which only serves PK-2, posts higher 3rd grade math scores than W O Lance, suggesting gaps may exist before students even reach testing grades.

On a positive note, chronic absenteeism has improved significantly, dropping from a peak of 27.2% to 12.6%, though it remains higher than nearby schools like Huguley (2.4%). Hispanic students also showed dramatic academic gains, jumping from the 2nd to the 20th percentile. However, the school spends less per student ($9,031) than most comparable schools, and special education and low-income students rank in the bottom 2% statewide. While the school serves a high-poverty population, the recent decline in free/reduced lunch eligibility (from 86% to 65%) did not correspond with any academic improvement, suggesting challenges run deeper than demographics alone.